After the Supreme Court upheld a sliver of Arizona's immigration law Monday, state Rep. William Snyder thinks the precedent is set for Florida lawmakers to take another crack at the reform he pushed in 2011.

But a Stuart immigration attorney said that even the upheld police-stop-related rule will prove shaky in future constitutional challenges, and other states won't be eager to introduce similar measures likely to end up in court.

In a split decision Monday, the Supreme Court stripped out major portions of the Arizona law — a requirement that immigrants obtain or carry registration papers; another making it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to seek work or hold a job; and a rule letting police arrest suspected illegal immigrants without warrants.

The ruling maintained a requirement that police check the status of suspected illegal immigrants while enforcing other laws. But the court said that provision could endure more constitutional challenges when applying the law. The court also said police can't arrest people on small immigration charges.

Snyder, R-Stuart, pushed a 2010 state bill including a toned-down version of what the court let stand. His bill would have allowed — not required — police to check people's immigration status when they're specifically under criminal investigation. The bill died amid concerns over constitutionality and pressure from big business, tourism and agricultural interests.

"I think our bill has been completely vindicated now," said Snyder, who's vacating his seat to run for Martin County sheriff. "I would look to see that the Legislature goes back and passes that law that I started."

Stuart immigration attorney Christopher A. Gaston said more Arizona law challenges on the grounds of racial profiling are likely, and the ruling will stymie reform efforts in states like Florida. He said fixing immigration law is Congress' move to make, not the states'.

"Not only would such a law be difficult to apply within the confines of the Constitution, but the enactment of such a law would assuredly be faced with legal attacks, which would be costly and time-consuming to defend," Gaston said.

The Snyder proposal also required employers to check the legal status of new hires through E-Verify, an Internet service that checks employees' legal worker status. Several states already have E-Verify on the books.

Florida officials, including Republican Gov. Rick Scott and GOP super-majorities in both legislative chambers, couldn't agree on the reform two years ago. Scott campaigned on Arizona-style reform, but backed away in favor of waiting for the federal government to address the issue.

Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, filed an E-Verify bill in the 2012 session, but it never came up in committee. Harrell added the issue needs attention from the feds.

"Clearly, if the governor doesn't support it, it's going to go nowhere. He has veto power," Snyder said. "But I think this rekindles the debate. ... There really is now no legal issue."